Deep well drill bit



July 19, 1938. c. F. WILLIAMS ET AL DEEP WELL DRILL BIT Filed June 17, 1936 4 Sheets-Shea?l l July 19, 1938. c. F, WILLIAMS ET A1. 2,124,521

DEEP WELL DRILL BIT Filed June 17, 1936 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 \/////////a A v \l nu INVENTQRS C//mn E W////ams, d BYH n ane/- July 1.9, 1938- c. F. WILLIAMS ET A1. l 2,124,521

DEEP WELL DRILL BIT Filed Jue 17, 1936 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTORS C//mon E PVN/mms, m,

f/arls Gru- /7 ATTORNEY July 19, 1938. CLF. WILLIAMS ET A1. 2,124,521

DEEP WELL. DRILL BIT Filed June 17, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 fig. m. auf?. 11.

INVENTQRS Cl/mon F WI//m/ns ATToNEY A mailed July 19,1938 2,124,521

UNlTED STATES PATENT OFFICE DEEP WELL DRILL BIT Clinton F. Williams and Hans Gruner, Tonkawa,

Okla., assignors to Williams Iron Works Company, Tonkawa, Okla., a corporation of Oklahoma Application June 17, 193e, vserial No. 85,712

10 Claims. (Cl. Z55- 71) Our invention relates to deep well drill bits Fig. 11 is a longitudinal section on the line of cone cutter type and has for its principal II-II, Fig. 10. I object to provide a device of that character Fig. 12 is a perspective view of the head mem- Wherein the cutter members, each including a ber of the modified form of bit, showing the side cutter cone, a spindle with its head or attaching reamer disassembled from the bit head. 5'

member and antifriction bearings, may be as- Referring morein detail to the drawings: sembled independently of the bit head and at- I designates 2t bit head 0f COIlVentiOnal type,

tached thereto andremoved therefrom as units. except as hereinafter stated, including a tapered', It is also an object of our invention to provide threaded shank 2 for attachingv the head to a a cutter unit in which the antifriction members drill Stem in accordance with common practice. 10 are so related to the cone and its spindle and The head has the Usual ahge 3 at the base the units so combined with the bit head as to 0f the shank 2 and extending downwardly fromavoid torsional thrusts and excess wear of the the bOttOIIl 0f the head at spaced DOirltS about bearings, and inset slightly from the periphery of the In accomplishing these and other objects of ,flange are fOIkS 4 fOr mounting a cutter member 15 the invention, We have provided improved deas hereinafter described, the base ends of the tails of structure, the preferred forms of which OIkS being thickened as they merge into .the are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, Potllom 0f the bit head, t0 DTOVide maSS at the 1 wherein; JOntS f01 resisting Working strains and each fork Fig 1 is a longitudinal sectional View of a having a downwardly and outwardly facing re- 20 drill bit embodying our invention, on the line Cess all lts'flee end fof mlng a Seat 5 and Shoulder L Fig 2 6 for receiving the spindle head of a cutter unit Fig. 2 is an irregular cross section on the line as presently desnbd ,The aflge 3 0f the blt 2 2 Fig 1 part of one of the spindle head head has a lugor thickened portion I eiitending abutments on the bit head 'and a part of the downwardly @Ver each fork 4 and eXllelldmg 011t 25 bit head ange being broken away for better Wardly and downwardly from the flange cen' musrtatiom trally of each lug 'I, is a boss having a back- Fig 3 is a detail perspective view of the bit 'gyttonmfplrltlO? Iikllirgtillhe reess be;

a e e o an e o om o adlnotlnller umts bemg removed and the lug 'I and having a downwardly facing por- 30 1 Pa s s s e tion I 0 at its forward end and an inclined face Fig. 4 is a sectional view of one of the cutter H at the man backset as at to limit area members fm the hue 4"4' Eig' 1 of contact ofthe spindle head to the face I Il. Flg- 5 1S an enlarged 81de elm/aufm 0f Daft The bil; head is provided with the usual fluid of the blt head flange' one of the Spmdleyfabut channel I3, terminating in a manifold I4 having 35 ment bosses all@ a H llllnllmg fork shOWlllg a outletthrough downwardly directed conduits I5 cutter member in position for assembly on the for distribution of drilling uid over the Cutter mounting fork. cones for cleaning the cones as the iiuid is de- Fig. 6 is a detail perspective View of a spindle livered to the wel] hole, l head. Each of the cutter cones IB is of conventional 40 Fig. '7 iS 2. Side elevation 0f vthe Spindle head. type except for contouring 0f its base socket Fig- 8 iS a Central longitudinal Section 0f a Il to receive a bearing of the particular form Cutter member Showing the Parts disassembled and structure which we have devised; Sc formed, in relative positions with the cone and spindle the socket |1 includes a Cup shaped recess, |8 head lll Central longitudinal Section and a Parli at its upper end for. receiving the cylindrical 45 0f the Spindlebloken aWaY- end I9 of a spindle 20, and a circular recess 2| Fig- 9 iS a Section 0n the line 9 9, Fig- 41 of larger diameter than the recess I8 for receivparticularly illustrating attachment of the spining a Collar 22 on the spindle, The Socket |1 dle to its attaching head. also has a ball race 24 cooperative with a race Fig. 10 is a plan view of the bit modied to 25 in the spindle collar for seating the ball 50 include side reamers in addition to the parts bearings 26,v and a recess 21 of substantially illustrated in the principal figure; part of the greater diameter than the ball race 24, opening bit head being broken away to illustrate one of outwardly` through the base of the cone, the the side reamers and the side reamer being shown recess 2`I being coaxial with the spindle when the in transverse section to illustrate its mounting. parts, are-assembled to provide a circular track- 55 way for roller bearings 2l carried in a race 2l I'he end of. the extension 20 is provided 4with a ball race l2 cooperating with the races 24 and 25, previously described., 'Ihe races 24, 25 and 32 are preferably formed by arcuate shaped grooves in the respective parts, which, when aligned, form a ball track having substantially circular cross-section to accommodate the balls 26. l v

'I'he spindle head 3l has opposite, parallel grooves 33 adapted to receive the arms of 'afork 4 on the bit head to hold the spindle head firmly in the fork, a collar 34 adapted to seat in the recess l in the inner face of `the fork and having a squared boss 35 bearing flat against the shoulder 8 to restrain twisting of the head in the fork and a cap portion 36 outwardly of the grooves 3l, having a flat top face 31 adapted for bearing against the downwardlyI exposed face Il) on the extension of the boss 8 on the bit head flange; the contacting surfaces on the spindle head, the fork and boss being preferably machined to provide smooth, evenseating. of the spindle head against the bit head and thereby distribute thrust loads even from one member to Vthe other.

The spindle shank fits snugly within a central channel 38 in the head 3| and is held against rotation or longitudinal movement therein by a tapered pin 40, driven through tapered apertures 4 I -42 in the grooved portion of the spindle head, and 43 in the spindle. The extension ID on theY 'spindle head snugly flts the portion of the spindle outwardly of the ball groove 25 to maintain proper relation of the mating ball grooves but is otherwise spaced from the inner wall of the cone when the parts are assembled to avoid frictionalcontact of the cone with the spindle or its extension, and `insures transfer of its thrust from the cone to the spindle and its mounting through the antii'riction balls.` y Y The cone Il, then spindle 20 and the spindle head 3i are so dimensioned that when the spindle is dropped into the conesocket I1 as.v the first step in assembly, the lgroove 25 in the spindle is .outof round with the groove 24 in the cone to provide space through which the balls 2,8 may be dropped into the groove inthe cone (Fig. 8). The apertures in the spindle and its head are so related that as the wedge pin 40 is driven to place the spindle is liftedand its -head drawn into the cone to register the grooves 24, 25and 32 (Figs.

1and4l. v

While the base of the, cone terminates in close proximity to the lower face of-the collar 34 of the spindle head, iti is not our intention that there should be any load transfer at this point.

',To assist the base teeth of the cones in reaming the holeland deliveringcuttings to they circulating iluid, we provide the collars 34 on the spindle heads with teeth 44, facing in the direction oi' rotation of the-drill and preferably upwardly and backwardly beveled lto conform to the contour of the outer face of the spindle the spindle. The spindle is `then pinned to itshead, wedge action of the pin drawing the spindle outwardly and its head extension inwardly to complete the circular contour of the compositev face ll on the top of the spindle head engages the corresponding flat face III at the bottom of the bit head ilange. The spindle is then anchored permanently to the bit head by welding the spindle head to the fork and to the boss on the bit head,.as at 4I. 4With the parts so assembled the cutter cones Il are grouped beneath the blt head with their apices adjacent the extended axis of the bit head to roll ony the bottom of a well hole and chip 'or eut material from earth or rock formation forremoval by the circulating iluid in accordancevwith well known practice. When a d cone becomes worn, it may be removed with its mounting from they bit head and replaced without necessity for shut-down of the drilling operation except for the ,time necessary for such replacement.

lThe modied form of the invention illustrated in Figs. 10, 11 and 12 corresponds to the preferred form heretofore' described except for addition' thereto of teaming cutters 41.- 'Ihe cutters 41 are rotatably mounted on bushings 4l on pins 44, each having a squared head I4 seated in a corresponding socket Il at the bottom of a vertical recess 52 in the side of the bit head, the upper end of the pin being mounted in a nut 5I seated in a squared socket I4 at the top of the recess directly above the socket ll, the sockets il and l54 being-preferably located in bosses I! 'and il built away from vthe face of the head and accommodating 'a cutter of substantial diameter in a relatively shallow recess in the bit head. Except for the reaming elements just described and elongation of the bit head to accommodate the reamers, the bit shown inthe modified form corresponds in structure and operation to that of the preferred form.

v What we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

Y1. A vdrill bit including a bit head, a bracket arm extending from the bit head, a spindle head secured to the bracket arm, an extension on the spindle head having roller and ball bearing races respectively, a. spindle carried by the spindle head having a ball bearing race, a cutter. having ball and roller bearing races cooperating with the ball and'roller bearing races of the spindle head extension, roller bearings mounted inthe roller Vbearing races, and ball bearings in said ball bear head concentric with the spindle and having a bearing race, a collar on the spfindle having a bearing race cooperating with the bearing race on the spindlehead extension, a cutter mounted.

on the spindle and having a bearing race cooperatingwith the ilrst named bearing races, and antifriction bearings in said races to rotatably retain'the'cutter.

3. A drill bit including a bit head, a bracket depending from the head, a spindle head secured to said bracket, a spindle carried by the spindle head, an extension on the spindle head having spaced bearing races, a collar on the spindle having a bearing race cooperating with 'one of the iirst named bearing races, antifriction bearings in said races, and a cutter rotatably mounted on the antifriction bearings. A

4. A drill bit including a bit head, a fork depending from the head and having spaced arms, a spindle head secured between said arms, a spindle carried by the spindle head, an extension on the spindle head having spaced bearing races, a collar on-the spindle having a bearing race cooperating with one of the iirst named bearing races, antifriction bearings in said races, and a cutter` rotatably mounted on the antifriction` bearings.

5. In combination with a' drill bit including a bit head having a depending bracket for supporting a cutter unit, a cutter unit including a spindie head secured to said bracket and having a tapering spindle bore, a spindle having a shank Acorresponding to the shape of the bore, a bearing collar on the spindle having a bearing race, an extension on the spindle head having a race corresponding to the collar race, a cutter having a bearing race cooperating with tlie iirst named bearing races, bail bearings mounted in said races, and wedge means extending through the' spindle -head and through the spindle shank to draw the spindle into wedging contact with the spindle head and the bearing races in alignment to rotatably retain the cutter on the spindle. i

6. In combination with a drill bit including a bit head having a' fork depending downwardly from the head and having spaced arms, a cutter unit including a spindle head adapted 1to be secured between said arms and having a tapering spindle bore, a spindle having a shank corresponding to the shape of the bore, a bearing co1- lar on the spindle having a bearing race, an extension on the spindle head having a race corresponding to the collar race, a cutter having a bearing race cooperating with the iirst named bearing races, ball bearings mounted in said races, and wedge means extending through the spindle head and through the spindle shank to draw the spindle into wedging contact with the spindle head and the bearing races in alignment to rotatably retain the cutter on the spindle, said arms of the fork forming means for retaining the wedging means.

7. In combination with a drill blt including a bit head having a fork depending from the head Y and having spaced arms, a cutter unit including a spindle head secured between `said arms and having a tapering spindle bore, a spindle having a shank corresponding to the shape of said bore, a bearing collar on the spindle having a bearing race, an extension on the spindle head having a race corresponding to the collar race, a cutter having a bearing race cooperating with the iirst named bearing races, ball bearings mounted in said races, wedge means located between said arms of the fork and extending through the spindle head and through the spindle shank to draw the spindle into wedging contact with the spindle head and therbearing races in alignment to rotatably retain the cutter on the spindle, and roller bearings mounted between said head extension and the cutter.

8. A drill bit including a bit head, a fork pr y jecting downwardly from the bit head, a spindle head mounted in said fork and provided with a tapered bore, a spindle having a shank conforming to the shape of said bore, wedging means retained by said fork for 'drawing the spindle shank into said bore, a rotary cutter, and means on the spindle cooperating with said wedging means to retain the cutter.

align the bearing races for rotatably retaining the cutter on the spindle, and roller bearings mounted between said head extension and the cutter.

10. A drill bit including a bit head, spaced forks depending radially from the head and having spaced arms, spindle heads'secured between the arms of the forks, spindles carried by the spindle heads and arranged with their axes converging toward the axis o! the bit head, extensions on the spindle heads concentric with the spindles and having bearing races, collars on the spindles having bearing races cooperating with the bearing races on the spindle head extensions, cone cutters having bearing races cooperating with the rst named bearing races, and antifriction bearings in said races to rotatably retain the cutters.

cuN'r'oN 1I'. wnmms; mms Gamm. 

